New Girl in La Push
by evasilver
Summary: When a new girl comes to live with her grandfather in La Push, she meets the pack and is imprinted upon. But what will happen when they find out about her special powers?
1. Chapter 1

I glanced up from my book out the car window as my Aunt Barbara drove north on Highway 101 towards the Olympic Peninsula. It was early May, yet here in Washington it was dreary as it had been in late fall back in Sacramento.

I sighed, a sound not missed by Aunt Barbara. "You'll just love it here, Ari, I promise. I mean, it might not be as sunny as you're used to, but…." I smirked as she tried to find an upside to this situation.

Aunt Barbara, by the way, is not technically my aunt. She is my mother's best friend. Before Mom died last June, she made Barbara promise to take care of me, since no one else could. The only other people who might have been willing to take me in were Mom's poor distant relatives, which were scattered all across the country. And my grandpa. But he had just suffered from a stroke, and my mom, even on her deathbed, could not bear to send me to live with a sick old man.

So Barbara got stuck with me. It wasn't all bad for her; I was a good kid, with great grades and better aspirations, and I always had dinner ready for her when she came home. But still, I could tell that Barbara was never fond of me, and now that she was moving halfway across the country she had an excuse to get rid of me.

"Your grandfather's health is improving," she had said to me. "He's back to functioning on his own now. But your presence would definitely be a help to him, in case anything happened. Plus, it's only one year!"

One year until I graduated; one year until I could escape to college and the wide world beyond. I couldn't wait. Neither, apparently, could Barbara.

So I agreed to go live with my grandfather in La Push, an Indian reservation in Washington. Grandpa Louis was full-blooded Quileute, and was one of the elders of the tribe. I was only a half Quileute (I have some Spanish and French mixed in) but I was really looking forward to seeing the Indian side of me.

Barbara gave up trying to find something positive about Washington, and I went back to my book, losing myself in its fantasy world.

About an hour later, Barbara pulled up onto the dirt driveway of a small but charming house on the outskirts of La Push. I hopped swiftly out of the car and ran around to the trunk to get my luggage. Being in the car for so long had made me seriously hyperactive, and I couldn't wait to get out. I popped the truck and pulled out my lemon-yellow luggage set, a Christmas gift from Barbara. I pulled the suitcases up to the front step as the door was pulled open by a tall old man: my grandpa Louis.

"Grandpa!" I exclaimed. I ran into his arms, and was filled with happiness as he held me tight.

"I'm so glad that you are here, Ari," he said.

* * *

Later that afternoon, after I had settled in and Barbara had left, Grandpa sat me down at the kitchen table to talk. We ate chocolate-covered pretzels and talked about the good old days, when my mom was alive and I would come up to the reservation every summer, from when I was born until I was nine. Then, the topic of conversation shifted to the current condition of the reservation. Grandpa had enrolled me in school yesterday, so I would have to attend this Monday. I truly couldn't wait. I really was looking forward to starting over in a new town and a new school. Hopefully I would get to see some of my old playmates from the summers I had spent up here.

I remembered a family who used to live just down the road- the Clearwaters. I asked Grandpa about them, and he looked distraught. "Oh, it was a sad time for them. Harry- you remember, the father and husband- he died last year, a heart attack. They're doing okay now, though. But they don't live down the road anymore. They moved about a mile across town a couple years ago."

Leah was a senior, about to graduate, Grandpa said. And Seth was a sophomore, a year younger than me. I was looking forward to seeing them at school.

I mentioned my desire to get to know some kids my age before school next Monday, and he smiled mischeviously. "Oh, I've got the perfect solution to that problem," he said. "Tonight, you and I are going to a barbeque down at Sam and Emily Uley's house."


	2. Chapter 2

"Who are the Uleys?" I asked Grandpa.

Grandpa wrinkled his nose, as if trying to finda way to describe them. "Sam and Emily are a couple...they will be getting married soon," he explained. "Sam is the head of a...group of boys on the reservation. He has been a great influence on all of them. Emily is the cousin of your friends the Clearwaters," he added. "But she was mauled by a bear a few years back and still has terrible scars; I trust you not to stare," he said sternly.

"Of course, Grandpa," I said. "They seem like nice people, but... I won't know anyone there!"

Grandpa laughed. "Oh, you won't, but I will," he said. "Don't worry, Ari, my dear, you'll be fine. The Clearwaters will be there, and a bunch of other kids from the tribe. You'll have a great time, I'm sure, and...maybe you'll meet a nice boy you like," he said, winking at me.

"Oh, Grandpa," I laughed. "I don't know about that."

"I wouldn't be so sure, darling," Grandpa said. And with that, he got up and went into his office.

* * *

I spent the whole afternoon worrying about Sam and Emily's party. Would the people like me? What would I do? What would the other kids be like? What should I wear? As I unpacked my bags, I planned out a dozen outfits, but disregarded each for being too summery, too wintery, too big, too small, too sexy, too modest, too nice, too casual. It was a relief to me when I heard the doorbell ring, lifting me from my despair.

I ran downstairs to find Grandpa at the door, chatting with a petite, dark-haired girl. She was very pretty, and smiled easily, her joy reaching all the way up to her warm brown eyes.

Grandpa turned around to see me standing at the base of the stairs. "Ari, come meet our neighbor. She heard about you moving in, and wanted to come say hi. Kim, this is my granddaughter Ariana."

I stepped forward to stand next to Grandpa. "Please, call me Ari," I said, extending my hand.

Kim smiled and shook it daintily. "Nice to meet you, Ari," she said. "Are you going to be at La Push High?"

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm a junior. It's kind of weird going into school this late in the year; we only have like two weeks left, right?"

Kim laughed. "Yes, thank God! I'm so tired of it. Usually, I love school, but it has just been too long."

I grinned. Kim was so easy to talk to, and she gave off a calming vibe. "Do you want to come inside?" I asked.

"I would love to, but I can't stay that long," Kim said. "I have to get ready for Sam and Emily's party, my boyfriend is coming to pick me up soon."

My eyes widened. "Oh my gosh, you're going too? Can you help me pick out something to wear? I'm totally lost."

Kim laughed again. "Of course! I'm always up for a clothesfest!"

Grandpa rolled his eyes at us as we dashed upstairs. "You girls have fun!" he called.

* * *

Kim and I talked and laughed as she helped me pick out some clothes to wear to the barbeque. She talked a lot about her boyfriend, Jared, who she described as "absolutely perfect". She seemed really in love, you could just tell by the way she talked about him. She also assured me that all the La Push kids were really nice, and that the classes at the high school were really easy for the most part.

We decided on my favorite dark-wash skinny jeans with Uggs and a long-sleeved light green cotton tee, accessorized with a brown leather belt and silver necklace and earrings. The whole look was low-key but made my blue-green eyes, which I thought were my best feature, really stand out. After we decided on an outfit for me, Kim ran to back to her house down the street to change into her outfit, with a promise to meet me at the party.

I quickly applied my favorite black eyeliner, and then polished my look with a dash of blue smoky eyeshadow. I put on a quick swipe of tinted gloss and then dashed downstairs to meet Grandpa.

"Well, don't you look nice," said Grandpa as I descended the stairs.

"Thanks, Grandpa, same to you," I said. He did look very nice. He had changed into jeans with a blue and grey striped button-down and a thick brown belt.

Grandpa smiled. "Come on, Ari, let's go."

I ran out behind him into the garage, which housed his black Chevy Malibu. "You can drive, can't you?" he asked, twirling his keys around on his finger.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, Grandpa."

"Well then why don't you?" He tossed the keys to me, and I caught them nimbly.

"Sweet," I said. I was really excited to drive. I hadn't gotten a chance since last month, when I had gone grocery shopping for Barbara. She hated to let me drive, because she thought I was going to wreck the car every time I got behind the wheel. But the truth was that I was actually a very skillful and carful driver.

I hopped into the driver's seat and started the car. I pulled out into the road and saw Kim and a tall, tan, buff man walking with her down the sidewalk.

"Hi, Kim!" I called.

She looked up, smiled, and waved at me. I smile back and drove down the road into town, following Grandpa's instructions on how to get to Sam and Emily's.

About five minutes later, we pulled up to a small but well-cared-for and cheerful house. I pulled over to the curb, and, as I did, caught sight of the party in the back of

the house. It looked like the party was mostly populated by clones of Kim's boyfriend. Big, buff, tan, tall, and...gorgeous.

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AUTHORS NOTE: PLEASE REVIEW! 3


	3. Chapter 3

AN: this is set after breaking dawn, so there are a few new wolves. Jacob's and Sam's packs have become friendly again, so they spend a lot of their time together.

* * *

Embry POV

Sam and Emily's barbeques were always fun, but they were definitely the best when the whole pack, all of the imprints, their families, and the elders were there. Hey, the more the merrier, right?

But it was rather annoying when half the pack was off with their imprints. You had Sam and Emily doing the whole host/hostess deal, then Jacob with Nessie, Quil with Claire, and Paul with Rachel. Thank God Jared and Kim weren't here yet; I think I might throw up from all of the lovey-doveyness around here. Sam says that I'll understand when I imprint. I probably will, but for now it just seems annoying.

The rest of the pack is playing football in the sideyard, a little but away from the party. Well, we WERE playing football, until Claire wandered over and Quil made us stop for fear of hurting her. Jesus. Now Brady was arguing with Quil, trying to get him to pick her up and just take her out of the football area.

I sighed, and turned back to the party, hoping to maybe see Seth come in. We had gotten a lot closer after both Jacob and Quil had imprinted, leaving me alone. but Seth was cool. He had a great pesonality, even if he was a little too optimistic sometimes.

I saw the back door from the Uley's kitchen open, and watched Emily lead Mr. Louis out. I like Mr. Louis. He was a great guy, and could always make you laugh. But he had had some health problems earlier this year, and had had to go to the hospital. I hope he is feeling better now.

I watched the door swing open again, and expected to see Sam or Sue emerging from the kitchen. But instead, I saw a gorgeous young woman. Her hair was mahogany, her eyes were ocean, her skin was teak. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. Suddenly, I felt all of my earthly connections float away from me. I expected to fly away into space, untethered, but she brought me back. A bond had formed, a thousand times stronger than all of the others, and it held me to the earth and to her. Suddenly, I realized...I had imprinted.

"Embry! EMBRY!" I felt a hard thud as Collin threw the football at the back of my head. I turned around, annoyed that they had distracted me from this wonderful creature.

"What?" I said, dazed.

Collin looked at me weirdly. "Are you okay, man? You look a little bit...weird."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I said, waving him away. "I have to go talk to Jake."

Collin gave me a weird look. "Yeah, okay, man, whatever."

I walked through the party, trying as hard as I could to not just stop and stare at my imprint. I found Jake talking to old Quil on the patio.

"Hey, Jake, can I talk to you for a sec?" I asked.

Jake looked at me. Seeing my expression, his eyes widened. "I'll be right back," he said to old Quil.

Jake lead me around the edge of the house, away from the cheerful chaos of the barbeque. "Who is it?" he asked knowingly.

"The girl, the new girl..." I struggled to explain. "I don't know, I've never seen her before."

Jake nodded. "That must be Mr. Louis's granddaughter."

"He has a granddaughter?"

"Yeah, she just moved here this afternoon, from Sacramento. I was just talking to old Quil about her. Her mother, Louis's daughter, died about a year ago. Her name is Ari."

"Ari," I breathed.

Jake looked at me. "Dang, was I like this with Nessie?"

I laughed. "Totally, bro. You had it badddd."

Jake smiled. "And now you do. Here's a tip. Be nice, welcoming, not over the top. Try to be friends first, so she won't be creeped out. Okay?"

"Gotcha," I said.

"Okay," Jake said. "Now let's get back to the party."

* * *

AN: LIKE IT? HATE IT? PLEASE REVIEW! 3


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for all of the feedback guys! Keep it up please! I hope you like this chapter...hopefully another one soon! 3**

Ari POV

This barbeque was turning out to be really fun. I was chatting with Emily and Kim in the kitchen while we prepared a gigantic meal for everyone.I was shocked at the amount of food that had to be cooked to feed the boys...apparently, it was nothing for one of them to go through six or seven hot dogs in a single sitting. We were just talking about the high school when the front door of the Uley's house opened and the Clearwater kids walked in.

"Heyyyyy Emilyyyyy!" boomed Seth's deep voice as he walked back into the kitchen. I couldn't believe how much he had changed. He was as big and tall and buff as all of the rest of the guys there, but I still remember him as a cute little brown-eyed boy. "Sorry we're late, Leah took FOREVER to get ready."

"Mmmmm, cornbread," he said, popping a piece from the platter into his mouth. Emily glared at him as Kim tried unsuccessfully to push him away from the food.

Seth laughed and looked around, his eyes finally settling on me. "Hey...you look really familiar!"

Leah walked through the kitchen doorway and peered around her brother's large frame to get a better look at me. She had grown up a lot too- she was tall and gorgeous, with long brown hair and sharp features. She rolled her eyes at her brother. "Of course she looks familiar, Seth, that's Ari."

Seth furrowed his brow as he stared at me. "Ari?" Suddenly, recognization filled his face. "Oh my god, it is you! I haven't seen you in forever!"

I laughed. "Same to you, Seth."

Seth enclosed me in a tight bear hug. "Wow! It's been like, eight years, right?"

I gasped. "Seth...can't...breathe..." I managed to get out.

Seth chortled and put me down carefully on the floor. "Sorry, Ari. Dang, it's been a long time! Hey, remember when we tried to dig a hole to China when we were six, but then my mom fell in it? She was soooo mad!" He laughed again.

I laughed too. It was nice to remember the good ol' days with the Clearwaters. "Yeah, I remember, Seth. That was hilarious!"

Seth and I talked some more about our antics when we were little, with occasional inputs from Leah. Seth seemed really nice and personable, I could tell that he was a great guy. Finally, Emily announced that there were too many people in her kitchen, and she shooed us outside. Seth offered to introduce me to everyone.

First, I meet my grandpa's old friends, old Quil Ataera and Billy Black. They were talking to Sue Clearwater, Leah and Seth's mom. They all seemed very nice, with only a few jibes about how glad they were that I didn't take after my grandpa. Seth then introduced me to Quil, a boy my age, and a little girl named Claire. Claire was Emily's niece, and she was perhaps the cutest little four-year-old I had ever seen.

After that, we met Jacob, who was also my age and one of Seth's best friends, and an adorable girl who looked about seven. Unlike everyone else here, she wasn't tan at all, but had pale alabaster skin. Jacob took Seth aside to talk to him about something, and I got to talk to Nessie. She spoke a lot about Jacob, who she saw as a type of big brother.

When Seth cam back from his talk with Jacob, he looked a little nervous. "Okay, Ari, umm... I'll go introduce you to some of the other guys! They're all supernice, don't worry."

He took me over to where a lage group of guys was playing football. One of them came jogging over. He was tall, even taller than Sam, and definitely buff, as you could see through his white t-shirt. But what made me like him the most was the kindness and sincerity in his eyes.

"Hey, Seth," he said, greeting him with a nod. He turned to me. "Hey, I'm Embry." He held out his hand.

I smiled. "I'm Ari, I'm Louis's granddaughter."

Embry nodded and smiled. "Sweet. Do you want me to introduce you to the rest of the guys?"

"Sure!" I replied.

Embry waved the football guys over. They all had similar characteristics, like their cropped dark hair, muscular bodies, and copper skin.

He quickly threw names at me. "This is Brady, that's Collin, that one's Caleb, this is Mark, the one in the back is Paul, and that's Jared."

I smiled at them all and nodded at Jared, and he smiled back.

Embry clapped his hands. "Well! Do you want to play some football?"

I grinned. "Absolutely!"

Embry smiled at me, but Paul stepped forward. "Embry, you can't just let her play."

Embry frowned at Paul. "Why not? She wants to."

Paul rolled his eyes. "It's not like we can tackle her!"

Embry opened his mouth to object, but I smoothly cut in. "Don't worry about that, Paul," I said, taking a step forward. "You won't be able to tackle me anyway."

"Ooooooooh!" said the rest of the boys, visibly impressed.

Paul's brow furrowed as his eyes attempted to pierce a hole through me. His hands began to shake. "Paul, calm down," said Jared. Paul turned and walked through the group of boys, shoving Brady and Caleb aside.

I smoothly turned back to Embry. "So, what are the teams?"


	5. Chapter 5

Embry POV

Wow, that took some guts. She had just stood up to Paul, PAUL. He is a good nine inches taller than her, but she stood up to him like it was nothing. I'm actually pretty impressed that Paul didn't phase right there and rip her to pieces.

The more I'm around this girl, the more I feel myself falling in love. Not just from the imprint, but actually, truly, falling in love. Every bit of her is perfection.

Her hair is dark brown with a hint of red, and it waves gently down past her shoulders. Her eyes are the turquoise of the ocean, and they burn with the brightest fire. Her lips are shapely and red, and part to her straight white teeth. Her body is small, yet toned and tan.

I love the way she laughs, the way she smiles. The way she moves her body: graceful, yet precise. Her courage, her sense of humor, her joy. Dang, I've only been around this girl for the better part of five minutes, and I'm already in deep.

We are now setting up for football. The teams are Jared, Brady, Mark, Ari, and me against Paul, Collin, Wyatt, Caleb, and Seth. Luckily, there are even numbers, so Paul can't give me any crap about letting Ari into the game. I'm picked to be quarterback, with Jared and Mark as my linemen, and Ari/Brady as my running backs/receivers. I know that Paul's going to run a blitz, as he always does, so I tell Ari and Brady to run a route behind the defense to get open.

We line up, and I yell, "Fifty-two! Ninety-seven! Hut, hut, HIKE!"

As I had suspected, Paul runs a blitz with everyone charging straight towards me. I simply flip it over Wyatt's head to Brady, who runs freely into the "end zone," a.k.a past the old oak trees.

I laugh as Brady starts his touchdown celebration dance and Paul's face gets red as he realizes just how bad he has been thwarted. We all group together in the other "end zone" (this time, between the birdbath and the maple sapling) and do the kickoff. Mark kicks it as far as he can, which is pretty far, and Caleb receives it for the return. Caleb is pretty quick; he dodges past Jared and Brady before I dive in and take out his legs. He goes down hard, and the ball is dislodged. Ari, who is right behind me, scoops up the ball, leaps over Caleb's head, swerves around Wyatt, who falls down himself trying to catch her, and dodges Paul with a great spin move. God, is she fast! She jumps over Seth as he slides in front of her to catch her feet, and dashes into the end zone.

I look at Paul, whose mouth is now hanging wide open, astonished. Ari jogs back to help up Seth, who rolled onto Collin, and winks at Paul. "Told ya so," she said, smiling widely.

Paul grits his teeth as his hands begin to shake wildly. Brady goes over to him and leads him away, telling him to cool down. Ari, meanwhile, seems completely unperturbed. She leans down to help Collin up, unconcerned with Paul's little fit.

"DINNER!" Emily shouts from the patio. "Come on, boys, before it's all gone!"

Most of the boys jump up and sprint towards the house, delighted at the very idea of food. I fall into step beside Ari, who is laughing as Wyatt tries to tackle Caleb, who cut him off in his race to the food.

"Are you going to La Push High?" I ask as we walk.

She smiles. "Yeah, for all of two weeks. I don't know what they're going to do with me. Barbara planned this at a really bed time."

"Barbara?" I ask, hoping that I'm not prying too much. "Who's Barbara?"

"She's….well, she was my mom's best friend. After my mom died last year, I moved in with her."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." I had heard about Louis's daughter dying last year, but I hadn't put two and two together.

"It's okay. It's been almost an entire year now. And I figured it would be better for all of us, me and Barbara and Grandpa Louis, if I moved up here to stay with him."

"You have a great time up here." I turn to her and smile. "Trust me."

She smiled back. "Okay."

I laughed. "Now come on, I want some food."

**A/N: questions? problems? issues? REVIEW**


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